A report by MSPs
criticising the proposed assisted suicide Bill before Holyrood has been
welcomed by campaigners opposing the legislation.
The
Assisted
Suicide (Scotland) Bill, introduced by Green Party MSP Patrick Harvie, is
due to have its first stage debate in the Scottish Parliament by the end of
May.
On a raft of crucial
matters the committee has revealed the Bill to be lacking and deeply flawed.
And while stopping
short of recommending MSPs to throw out the Bill they have made their view
clear that the majority of the Health and Sport Committee, which has been
scrutinising the Bill, oppose it.
Dr Gordon Macdonald of Care Not Killing (pictured giving evidence to the committee), said, ‘This report confirms
what
we have said along. The Bill
is poorly thought out, ill-conceived, badly-drafted and effectively not fit for
purpose. We are delighted that
the committee agrees with us that the Bill contains significant flaws which are
likely to prevent it from being enacted. It is gratifying to note a majority of the committee is against the Bill
although they have not made a formal recommendation to the Parliament to reject
the Bill.’
Catherine Garrod,
Edinburgh Disability Rights Campaigner speaking on behalf of Not Dead Yet,
another campaign group opposing the Bill, said: ‘Disabled people oppose
assisted suicide because it gives the message that our lives are not worth
living. Disabled people want assistance to live, investment in health and
social care, good palliative care, support for independent living and the right
to equality not assisted suicide.’
Care Not Killing is strongly
opposed to legalising assisted suicide and firmly believes life should be
protected and palliative care prioritised. It represents more than 40
professional groups, faith groups, human rights groups, medical professionals,
palliative care specialists and legal experts who are convinced it would be
dangerous and unnecessary to decriminalise the existing law on homicide.
Dr Macdonald said.
‘We do not want the state-sanctioned
killing of old, ill and disabled people of all impairment.
‘We want support for
people to live - not to die. In
recent weeks as the Bill has been scrutinised we have witnessed repeated and
sustained criticism from a variety of sources and for a range of reasons
because it is so badly drafted - leading experts in medicine and palliative
care, senior lawyers and experienced ethicists who all express serious and
genuine concerns. And more than 15,000 members of the public have signed our
petition.
‘We have always
maintained that assisted suicide is unnecessary, unethical and uncontrollable.
This is compounded by the fact that this is a weakly thought-out and
poorly-written Bill. The numbers of people who have criticised whole parts of
it, quite aside from any moral or ethical objections, highlight the problems
with the legislation.’
The Bill calls for
the creation of ‘licensed facilitators’ - aged as young as 16 - who would
assist individuals end their life and would remain close by until such times
and even film the scene as the individual dies or decides not to proceed with
the assisted suicide.
In effect, the
Scottish Government is being asked to fund and train licensed killers to
preside over the suicide deaths of teenagers as young as 16.
Dr Macdonald added: ‘We
believe the public needs to be fully aware of all the arguments and not just be
influenced by the knee-jerk emotional arguments about so-called dignity in
death from those who back the Bill.
‘People change their
minds quickly on this issue when they are told about the possible impact on the
vulnerable, those near the end of life, the sick, elderly, disabled and
depressed who may consider themselves in some way a burden and through fear of
becoming a financial, emotional or care burden find themselves pressured in
some way to opt for assisted suicide.
‘The proposed
safeguards contained in the Bill are simply not robust enough to prevent abuse
from occurring. Many people, including leading doctors, spokespeople for
disability groups and representatives of Scotland's churches, have criticised
this Bill . And it must be rejected by MSPs and the Scottish Parliament at the
soonest opportunity.
‘Countries which
have enacted assisted suicide laws have seen the eligibility criteria expand
and widen putting intolerable pressure on the ill, the elderly and the infirm.
Recently a bill was introduced in Oregon seeking to widen the eligibility
criteria for assisted suicide. This is a perfect example of the incremental and
insidious widening which would inevitably follow here were the bill to be
passed - Oregon is not an example we want to follow and that is the model upon
which the Bill before Holyrood is based.’
Dr Macdonald added, ‘I am delighted the First Minister and other
party leaders including Jim Murphy (Labour) and Willie Rennie (Liberal
Democrats) have expressed their opposition to the legalisation of assisted
suicide. They clearly understand it would bring pressure on vulnerable people
to end their lives and put the elderly and disabled at risk of abuse as well as
very ill young children.
‘The First Minister
summed it up well when she said: ‘I believe we should support
people to live and I am therefore in favour of good quality palliative
care. There also remains a major stumbling block to assisted suicide: How could
you have sufficient safeguards?’
‘The new Bill
follows very closely the 2010 End of Life Assistance Bill proposals which MSPs
comprehensively rejected in Holyrood by 85-16. MSPs are likely to again have a
free vote on this Bill. The First Minister and other leaders have one vote each
and we hope the vast majority of MSPs will follow their example after
examining all the evidence.’
Dr Macdonald
highlighted a number of key conclusions of the committee criticising the Bill
including:
*The Committee is not persuaded by the
argument that the lack of certainty in the existing law on assisted suicide
makes it desirable to legislate to permit assisted suicide;
*Members have also acknowledged that there
are ways of responding to suffering (such as increased focus on palliative care
and on supporting those with disabilities), which do not raise the kind of
concerns about crossing a legal and ethical ‘Rubicon’ that are raised by
assisted suicide.
*The Committee considers that a requirement
for mandatory psychiatric assessment would be desirable in relation to any
request for assisted suicide by a person who was terminally ill, under the age
of 25, and/or with a history of mental disorder. The Committee also
acknowledges the argument that given the magnitude of the decision to commit
suicide, assessment by a psychiatrist ought to be routine in all cases.
*The Committee considers that legislation to
permit assisted suicide seems discordant with a wider policy of suicide
prevention by ‘normalising’ suicide and seeming to endorse it.
What you can do
After the vote, Dr Gordon Macdonald (pictured right),
convenor of CNK Scotland said:
